~ Domestic adventures of a music teacher

Category Archives: Sewing

One thing I really enjoyed after having a baby was getting back to my old wardrobe. I was fortunate enough to fit into my old clothes pretty quickly, and after not wearing them for months it was like having a closet full of new things. I’m actually still enjoying that, though I ran into an unexpected hurdle when packing my suitcase to go to a wedding in June. I have a closet full of lovely, summery, wedding-appropriate dresses, most of which I haven’t worn in over a year. But alas, most of them are destined to remain hanging in the closet until next summer for one small reason–I’m breastfeeding. My dresses all fit me just fine, but they mostly zip up the back or are otherwise unsuited for feeding a baby without having to completely undress.

So, I found a nice skirt and top for the wedding a moved on with life. Then I had the same problem for another wedding in July. I ended up wearing the same top with a different skirt. Now I am looking ahead to another wedding in September, and feeling frustrated by my options. Sure, I can wear a skirt/top combination again, but I never feel as dressed up in those outfits as in a pretty dress, and I can’t wear any of my pretty dresses. Dang.

OH WAIT. I have a sewing machine that’s been woefully neglected for the last year and 3 weeks of summer vacation left. Why did it take me so long to come up with this solution? Rarely do I have such a good excuse to make myself new clothes and here I am, ignoring the perfect opportunity!

So I got right on that and ordered Sewaholic’s Yaletown Dress and Blouse, which is a beautiful, floaty wrap-style dress with the option to make a blouse. It will make a lovely dress for my cousin’s wedding as well as any other dressy occasions I encounter in the next several months. Or even just to wear to work, if I feel like it. I like the blouse option, too–it’s so pretty and drapey. It would be nice to have a dressier blouse.

Here’s the dress (photo taken from the Sewaholic pattern shop):

And here’s the blouse (photo taken from Sewaholic pattern shop):

I’m still waiting for the pattern to get in, but in the meantime I’ll be going to town on Monday to pick out fabric. It’s so exciting to have a new project to plan for!

One item of baby gear I have been interested in from the start is a baby carrier. I love the idea of being able to carry your baby around and still have your hands free if necessary. Everybody wins! Problem is, there are so many options out there. This link talks about the different styles of carriers, without even listing all the different brands, etc. And they are pricey! Most seem to run in the $100 range–some even more. I was not really interested in spending that much, but I wanted to try something.

I was intrigued by the idea of a woven wrap–they’re quite versatile, the only con being you actually have to learn how to tie them. The internet is full of videos and tutorials, though, and I’m pretty sure I can figure it out. However, once again, the price problem–I didn’t want to pay $100 for what is essentially just a big length of fabric, hemmed, no matter how pretty or soft or special the fabric is. This, my friends, is why I own a sewing machine.

After a little bit of research, I headed to JoAnn’s armed with coupons. A brief hunt through the red-tag fabrics yielded a nice linen/cotton blend with a not-too-girly print (important since baby’s sex is still a mystery), and the final damage was….$16. That, to me, is a much more reasonable price for trying something out. If it doesn’t work out, I won’t feel bad. If it does, I got a major deal and I wouldn’t feel so bad about putting more money down on something more expensive if I know I’ll use it.

I dig the print.

Yesterday afternoon I tackled the massive length of fabric. The process wasn’t difficult at all, just a little unwieldy because of the length of fabric I had to work with. I had bought some extra to allow for shrinkage in the wash, so first I trimmed it down to 5 yards (this is a pretty standard size for most average-sized moms, or so the Internet says), then trimmed the width to 30″. I tapered the ends (like a parallelogram) so they’d be easier to tie, then hemmed the whole thing as narrow as I could.

You can see the tapered ends here.

I honestly thought it would take longer (pressing up long hems always seems to take me forever, and this was essentially about 11 yards of hemming), but the whole thing, start-to-finish, took maybe 2 hours.

Of course, I can’t speak yet to the effectiveness of my wrap, but it’s all ready to go and I look forward to trying it out when Baby T arrives!

I haven’t quite got back to posting regularly, but this is a gap of only 2 months or so instead of 6, so that’s progress, right?

Right.

Anyways, I finished my quilt and I love the final product!

Don’t worry about the disembodied hand; I brought the quilt down to the quilt shop to show it off and one of the ladies there was helping me hold it up from behind while my friend Bonnie took a picture.

It’s a lot bigger than I originally envisioned, but that’s ok–it will have many years of usefulness, instead of just being a baby-sized blanket! I love how the random combination of colors worked out, too. I didn’t have a grand color scheme, I just used whatever pieces I had around that I could cut to the right size. Still, there are a few things that tie it together–several different reds and blues, a couple of different fabrics with polka dots, and some combinations that were planned originally to go together (because I originally bought those fabrics together).

I am also unreasonably pleased with the fact that I made this whole project for $27. Most of the fabric I already had, of course. I did have to make a trip to JoAnns for the border/binding/backing fabric (I used the same grey dot print for all 3). With a coupon, that came to $25. Then I spent $2 at the thrift shop for an old sheet to use for batting (I wanted to keep the whole thing pretty lightweight).

My sister-in-law helped me with putting everything together. We basted the layers together with some awesome spray-basting stuff–I don’t remember what it was called but it was infinitely better than using safety pins, which is what I did with my last quilt. It did take longer than expected to get all the layers nice and flat, but I think that would be a challenge no matter what. I decided to keep the quilting simple–I just stitched in the ditch along the big seams where the blocks went together. We originally thought of maybe stippling the border, but after a little practice at that I realized it would take way more time than I was interested in spending. Straight lines might be boring, but they’re quick and easy!

Or at least semi-straight lines. You can see my piecing was not perfect in some places because my corners don’t match exactly. This is probably mainly a product of the fact that I don’t have a quarter-inch foot for my machine and my estimation of exactly where 1/4″ lies is not perfect. I should fix that, someday. In this case, it’s not enough to bother me.

Of course, after I finished this project (over Christmas break), I had 2 baby showers and got a bunch of lovely hand-made baby blankets from other people. Maybe I should have planned a different kind of project? But I’m not sorry. I loved making it and I hope to use it for years!

It’s a little embarrassing to realize I haven’t posted since July. I have no real excuse. Well, maybe a little bit of an excuse. You see, in June I found out I’m pregnant…which is lovely and very exciting, but not very conducive to taking photos of me wearing clothing I have sewn. Most of which does not currently fit me. I have a new Archer that never got photographed, and I think there’s something else as well, but beats me if I can remember it today. I also have an adorable baby sweater I knitted for a cousin that I photographed but never posted about. And I really haven’t done any clothing-sewing lately…it seems a bit pointless!

As for why no cooking posts…well, there I really do have no excuse. Just pure laziness! But over this Christmas break I’ve really been wanting to get back into blogging and so here I am, all set with a new project!

Ever since finding out I was pregnant, I wanted to make something for the baby. Since we’re not finding out whether we’re having a boy or a girl, I couldn’t make any cute little clothes. So I decided this would be a great excuse to make a quilt, something I’ve been wanting to do for ages. I’ve only made one quilt before, a wedding present for a good friend.

It was a very basic pattern and I had a lot of help and advice from the ladies at the quilt shop where I got all the supplies. I didn’t mind the expense at the time, especially since it was a wedding present. But as someone who’s used to the smaller scale of garment-sewing projects, the price of a quilt from beginning to end, including all the supplies (rotary cutter, mat, etc.) is a little overwhelming. I mean, I know when I sew clothing the cost tallies up just the same…fabric isn’t cheap, nor are patterns. But it’s a smaller chunk at each time, instead of one big purchase and then a project that you work on for weeks/months. So I’ve always wanted to do a little more quilting, but never really wanted to spend that kind of money.

But after a while, all those garment projects build up quite a nice pile of scraps that really aren’t big enough to use in clothing projects. They’re too big to just toss, though, so they sit there taking up space. What better use for a bunch of my fabric scraps than a scrap quilt for Baby T? Quilt problem solved. Admittedly, it will lean a little more toward the feminine side, since most of the fabric was bought to make clothing for me. But oh well.

I had some help from my sister-in-law with the planning and cutting on this project (quilting cutting, squaring up the fabric, measurements…ugh, it is harder for me than it should be. I like clothing patterns so much better…). I decided to use the Yellow Brick Road pattern by Atkinson designs. Which, now that I look at it, is a lot like the pattern I used for my other quilt! But I didn’t want to do anything very complicated, pattern-wise. Just something simple, especially since I have a limited amount of time to complete this project! (Till the end of February, that is.)

It’s been nice having something to work on in bits and pieces over evenings and weekends this fall. Then, Christmas came, along with a lovely 2-week break from school, and I decided to really put some time into it. I’ve now finished the quilt top, with the border, and I just need to get some batting before I consult with my sister-in-law on putting it all together and quilting it. (I’ve never actually quilted anything…my other quilt, I took the cheater’s route and just tied it.) Here’s a sneak preview:

I’ll post more (and better!) pictures when I’m finished. You can see there isn’t much rhyme or reason with the colors and fabrics…I didn’t have a lot of choice, since I had to work with the pieces that I had. You might recognize the fabric from my Hollyburn skirt in there, as well as the red fabric from the dress I made for my niece last summer. Most of the other fabrics are from older projects that were never blogged here. I rather like how it all looks together, though. The only fabric I purchased was the grey dot for the border (that will be the backing as well). I wanted to tie it all together with something neutral-ish and non-gender-specific (to counteract some of the more flowery fabrics). Also, there are two polka-dot fabrics in the main quilt, so it kind of ties in with those.

I’m very pleased with this project and excited to get it all put together, hopefully sooner rather than later. I’m also excited to be posting something on my blog once again…hopefully I won’t completely fall off the radar again once the end of February hits!

I’ve been a bit absent on this blog lately. Somewhere in the middle of the school year I just lost my motivation…I think it was around the time I was cast in a play and started driving 60 miles round trip multiple times a week for rehearsals! However, that’s all over and done now, school is winding down, and I’ve got some things to share with you!

Despite all the different things I like to try with sewing, I haven’t sewn with knits much. My only foray into the land of stretchy fabric was this dress I made several years ago:

I’m not sure why I haven’t done more with knits, since this project was very successful–it fit beautifully, went together easily, I love how it looks and feels, and I still wear it! (In fact, looking at this picture, I kind of want to make another dress off that pattern now…)

All that has changed, now, though! I’ve cherished dreams of making Sewaholic’s Renfrew top ever since the pattern was released. This winter, Sewaholic had a nice pattern sale, so I seized the moment and ordered the pattern.

It really was fun and pretty simple to sew. I know there are various techniques for sewing with knits, but the one that has worked best for me is just using the stretch stitch on my machine. It slows down your sewing a bit, since it double- or triple-stitches each stitch, but I like the end result and it feels very secure. I don’t have a serger or anything special like that, but I’m quite happy with what I can produce using my good old Sears Kenmore.

I used a lightweight red striped print from JoAnn Fabrics. I’ve been really attracted to reds lately. Forgive the imperfect pictures–they were the best I could do on my self-timer on the camera!I’m quite happy with my new shirt. It’s a little big–I went with a straight size 12 according to my measurements but I’m beginning to see (after making Renfrew, Cambie, and Hollyburn) that I’m a bit smaller than a Sewaholic 12. However, I actually like the relaxed fit on this shirt. It’s soft and comfortable–it doesn’t need to be totally fitted.

I like that the sleeves come down past my wrists. I despise sleeves that are too short.

In the above picture you can see how baggy the shirt is in the sleeve area. I think when I make this again I will take it in somewhat at the sleeve seams and the side seams and see if I can make a more fitted version.

Forgive the slightly awkward pose here. Just wanted to show how it looks with my yellow scarf! I’ve actually worn this combination several times–I like the bright colors.

I really like this pattern and I definitely foresee using it again in the future. It’s so versatile! I like being able to sew more basic, everyday garments, and this fits the bill perfectly. Maybe next time I will try the V-neck option.

I’m pretty sure the only curtains that ever hung in my parents’ house that weren’t homemade were the heavy drapes we used to have in the living room. (Those are long gone, now replaced by much nicer blinds.) My mom has always outfitted every room in curtains she sews herself, and has for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I had at least 3 dresses made from old sets of curtains. My particular favorite was made with blue fabric that had hung in my parents’ bedroom–it had little white flowers and eyelet lace trim, and my mom made it into a full-skirted dress with little puffy sleeves. That dress made me happy!

When it was time to get new curtains in our bedrooms, Mom let us choose the fabric. I remember one particularly unfortunate choice of hot pink fabric decorated with cats. Those curtains didn’t stay up long–they made my room a constant shade of pink that felt a little weird.

My 15th birthday present from my parents was to re-decorate my room. Thrilled to have a blank slate, I chose purpley-blue walls with sea-green trim and a floral border. I actually still really like the wall color and even the wallpaper border, but I kind of wonder what I was thinking with that green trim. However, my favorite part was (and still is) the white eyelet curtains that my mom made to my specifications, with a valance and everything. I still admire them every time I go home! If I could, I think I’d hang white eyelet curtains everywhere in my house.

Now we have a new house and plenty of blank windows to decorate. A few had to be taken care of right away–I did not want to leave my living room and bedroom windows without any coverings until my life slowed down enough to make curtains. We got some plain, cream-colored curtains at Target for the living room, and light-blocking ones for the bedroom (my husband often works a night shift and sleeps during the day).

With the madness of the holidays over, I finally had a chance to visit JoAnn’s with my mom for the important task of fabric selection. I have to say, I was pretty proud of myself for how fast I made my fabric choices–and I really like all of them. Curtains are super easy to sew–once you figure out where to cut for the right-sized panels (thank you, Mom, for doing the math for me), it’s just a matter of hemming and casings. All straight lines…I rarely get to sew so quickly!

Bathroom–this will be changing slightly. The white valance was here in the house when we moved in, but it doesn’t really work well with the new curtains. We’re actually going to take that down and put up a valance made with matching blue fabric.

I love my new curtains! They make the rooms look so much more finished. I still have a couple of blinds lying around that I need to put up on various windows, but overall, things are starting to come together and have less of a “just-moved-in” feel!

While I love garment sewing best, sometimes it’s fun to do a different kind of project. Our local quilt shop was offering a class today on the Diva Frame Wallet pattern from Sew Many Creations. The samples looked fantastic so I thought it would be fun to join in. Here are the results:

The ladies teaching the class gave us a couple of modifications to the original pattern, like adding the elastic in the middle to hold the pen.

They also suggested adding a lining to the zipper pocket so you wouldn’t be looking at the wrong side of the fabric when it’s unzipped:

The whole project took just 2 fat quarters (though I think you could do it with scraps, for the most part–the biggest piece is 8 1/2″ x 9″), some interfacing, a zipper, and the hardware.

I needed a new wallet anyways. I’ve been using the same boring old brown one for years. This is much more fun!

I can’t comment much on the pattern directions–since I was doing it at the class, everything was demonstrated. But everything went together very easily and only took about 2 hours from start to finish. I imagine it would be even quicker if I did it again. I might have to try one again sometime using some scraps from my bin of leftovers…heaven knows I have enough!

I hadn’t sewn anything since summer, so it was time for some new projects!

For some time I have been interested in Colette Patterns. They have some really cute designs. But I’ve never got around to ordering any of their patterns–until I saw the Zinnia skirt. I’ve seen some mixed reviews of this pattern online, saying it’s too basic and has some odd instructions on the waistband. However, I knew as soon as I saw it that the silhouette is just what I wanted. I’ve been trying to sew some more practical skirts–as in, practical for being a music teacher. I find myself wearing skirts to school quite frequently, and the ones I enjoy most are the slightly longer, fuller skirts. This is because at some point in almost every day, I have to sit on the floor, “criss-cross applesauce”, to sing or play a game with my students. Let me tell you about how well that works in a pencil skirt…

I was specifically drawn to the pleated version of the skirt–I just love that detail. So, on impulse, I ordered the pattern. Then it languished in my sewing box throughout the fall and moving and all the chaos December.

Finally, the weekend before Christmas, my husband and I were able to take a trip to “town” to do some grocery shopping and errand-running–including fabric shopping! I got a great deal at JoAnn’s on this beautiful, deep-red linen blend. I mostly thought of this project as something I would have to work on over Christmas break, no big rush.

Then I realized what a lovely, Christmas-y red color the fabric was, and how nice it would be to have something new to wear on Christmas. So, in between preparing to host 16 people for Christmas dinner at our new house, I got my skirt put together. I ended up hemming it at 6:30 am on Christmas day…no big rush, right? Ha. The good news is, the pattern was straightforward, it went together smoothly, it fits great, and it looks beautiful!

First some teaser pictures:

Aren’t those stitched-down pleats pretty? Oh, and please forgive the wrinkles–I’ve worn this skirt a couple of times already, and it’s linen!

Regarding the waistband directions given in the pattern: I did not follow their directions. I’d read in a couple of different places that the given instructions were not the usual way of applying a waistband and that they seemed unnecessarily confusing. When I read the directions, I agreed. I just applied the waistband in the usual way and it worked just fine. In fact, I have to say, it’s one of the best waistbands I’ve done. Usually when I stitch-in-the-ditch to finish the waistband, I end up missing a lot of it and have to go back and finish it by hand. So much so, that sometimes I just sew the whole inner part of the waistband by hand in the first place to make it look neater (as on my Hollyburn skirt). This one, however, worked like a charm and I didn’t have to tack it by hand at all. That’s what I call success!

I like the lapped button closure on the waistband, and I really dig this black button I found!

The only thing I did by hand on this skirt was the zipper. Thanks to Tasia (of Sewaholic Patterns) and her tutorials and pictures on the subject, I am a hand-picked zipper convert! I don’t mind invisible zippers, as those usually go quite well for me, but I love the neat and easy finish of doing it by hand. I think I like it best because I feel like I am more in control.

I had just the right color of thread; you really can’t see the zipper stitching at all unless you’re quite close-up.

I’ve also seen a lot of buzz on the internet about the Grainline “Archer” button-up shirt pattern. I’ve been interested in sewing a button-up shirt for a while, so I decided to buy some coordinating fabric and make a shirt to go with my skirt. This floral-print lightweight cotton fabric was the first thing that caught my eye when I went into Jo-Anns…I actually debated using it for the skirt, but then after I found the red linen for the skirt I realized the floral would go with it very nicely as a shirt.

Don’t you agree?

I have to say, I’m not wild about e-patterns that you have to print and piece together yourself. Granted, it’s handy–instant pattern gratification, as opposed to waiting several days for it to come in the mail. But seriously, pattern-cutting is arguably my least favorite part of the sewing process, and piecing it all together before cutting it out just extends the misery. Ugh. However, I will say that is is much more bearable now that I have a real kitchen table on which to spread things out, as opposed to my dinky little round 4-person table.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed making this pattern and I love the finished product. I am especially happy with the fit–I just cut a straight size 8 according to my measurements, and it’s perfect! How often does that happen with patterns? (With Simplicity, etc….NEVER.) I was a little worried that the sleeves were going to be too long, but they ended up just right. I’d rather have them longer than shorter, anyways. Besides, you can always roll up the cuffs.

I didn’t have any real trouble with this pattern, but it’s definitely not for the total novice. There weren’t a lot of illustrations and a couple of times I didn’t quite understand the instructions till I looked online at the Archer Sew Along. For one thing, I interfaced the wrong piece of the button placket…oops. At least that was an easy fix. I also found the collar stand a little tricky, but the video in the sew-along cleared that all up. Seriously, though, how are you supposed to make sense of doing that just from the instructions in the pattern, if you’ve never done a collar stand before? There isn’t even an illustration for that step!

Really, though, my collar went together just fine, once I figured out how to do it. The oddest part was that the collar seemed to have grown–it was too big for the neckline! Not sure how that happened. Maybe my collar stand pieces stretched when I wasn’t looking, or maybe I wasn’t careful in my cutting. I ended up easing the outside layer of stitching, but on the inside layer, which was top stitched, I just made some tucks. Not the most beautiful solution, but it works.

Altogether I’m very happy with the details on this shirt. The top stitching isn’t perfect in some places and if you look at my shoulder seams closely you’ll notice they’re different on the inside (I misunderstood the instructions on the first seam and then I couldn’t fix it because by the time I realized it was wrong, I’d already trimmed the seam allowance). But all the really visible stuff looks fine, and I’m especially thrilled with my buttons and buttonholes. I got the measurements right and they all line up! I french-seamed the sleeves and side seams, which worked great with this lightweight fabric.

I really like this combination; I’ve worn it twice already!I’m really happy with the style and fit of this shirt. It’s not very fitted, but it still looks flattering and not just like a sack. I wore it to school yesterday and got several compliments–and no one asked me if I made it myself! I consider that success. I like this shirt so much that I kind of want to make another one. And another Zinnia skirt….I might have a problem.

August seems to have flown by. July seemed kind of hot and dragging, but with August came the renewed threat of school, lurking subtly behind every corner, making me want to savor every moment left of summer.

At the beginning of the month I taught a class on sewing a basic skirt at our local quilt shop (see my own versions of said skirt here and here). I had a great time with the other 3 ladies, spending the day cutting, pinning, and stitching! We had hoped for a little larger turnout, but it ended up being kind of a busy weekend for several people. I didn’t mind, actually–it’s easier to work with fewer people at a time! We talked about doing the class again in the fall or winter, to give more people an opportunity to take it. I was really pleased with how the logistics of it worked out–it was no trouble getting our skirts done in the course of one day (we started around 10 and were finishing up around 4). The finished skirts were just lovely…everyone picked great fabric!

I honestly haven’t sewn a thing since the class…I guess I needed a break! However, I got some store credit for teaching the class, so I might have to plan another project soon.

The week after the class my husband and I went camping in our new pop-up camper. We were pretty excited about our purchase and wanted to make sure we tried it out before summer was over. We enjoyed a lovely couple of days at a high mountain lake and also managed to fit in a gorgeous hike.

I think the name “Fairy Lake” fits it beautifully.

I have a slight problem…I can’t see a beautiful body of water without wanting to swim in it. Especially this one–it was so blue, so clear, so perfect. I didn’t stay in long, though…mountain lakes are not known for being particularly warm!

Tove, being the intelligent beast that she is, did NOT go swimming in the lake. Why get unnecessarily cold when you can take a pleasant nap in the shade?

I love Montana.

Hiking.

Mountain goats!

As we were preparing to leave, I had a conversation with a lady who was just pulling into the campground with her husband. She told me the campground would soon start filling up with 250+ competitors for the Bridger Ridge Run. I had never heard of this race so I checked it out when I got home…insane! I like running, but a 20-mile race across the mountains? I’m lucky to do 6 miles, without any mountains involved. I was especially amazed by the thought of running up Sacajawea Peak. We hiked that trail…it’s a pretty steep hike with a lot of switchbacks. It seems to me that racing it would be taking your life in your hands. Some people can handle it, apparently…the winning time was 3 hours 14 minutes.

I celebrated the last weekend before school started by going fishing with my parents. I bought a new fishing pole earlier in the summer, but had yet to actually catch a fish with it. However, I redeemed my honor last Saturday by catching more than anyone else. It was like a feeding frenzy…I could watch the brookies swarming around my line. I only had to wait a little while to see which one would bite each time. I had pan-fried trout for dinner and for lunch again the next day…delicious.

This week it’s been back to routine and I haven’t done much except work, cook, sleep and read (I’m finishing off my summer reading with a full read-through of all seven Harry Potter books). The first week of school is exhausting; you forget what it feels like to be on your feet and using your voice all day! However, now we have a 3-day weekend and it looks like I have one more fishing trip in my future, so here’s to the last of summer!

At the beginning of August, I taught a class at our local quilt shop on this pattern. I had already tried out the pattern and made plenty of notes (see HERE), but I wanted to make it again before the class so it would be fresh in my mind. And…I kind of just wanted another skirt.

When I went fabric shopping at good old JoAnn’s, I ran into this delightful red/yellow/turquoise plaid shirting fabric and fell irrevocably in love with it. Feeling that plaid might be a questionable choice for such a full skirt, I did ask one of the JoAnn’s employees what she thought of the idea. She loved it, so I proceeded with slightly less trepidation…though I probably would have got it anyways!

Never having worked with plaids before, I immediately sought advice from the sewing world on the internet. To my relief, Tasia at Sewaholic took the mystery out of the process with her post “Matching Plaids: A Step-by-Step Guide.” What it boiled down to was 3 hours spent pinning and cutting things–rather more time than I had planned to expend on what should have been a quick-and-simple project!

The time-consuming part was this:

Yeah, if you want to cut your pieces out on a double thickness, you have to first pin the fabric layers together so that they match exactly. This can take a while.

Especially since this (above) is only about half of what I had to pin (since I had two large skirt pieces plus a waistband to cut). Then, of course, I had to carefully line up the pattern pieces themselves.

All this painstaking care was worth it, however, when I sewed my skirt seams.

That, my friends, is what matched plaids look like.

I was a little worried that the plaid would look funky as a skirt, but I’m really happy with how it turned out!